Education Aid Eludes Countries That Need It Most

In the West African country of Burkina Faso, nearly 50 percent of children do not attend school. The reported cost of getting them there would be close to $182 million, and yet the small, francophone country received only $17 million in education aid in 2012.

This comes from a new policy paper released this week by UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report, which found that the countries most in need of education funds aren’t getting them.

While total development aid has risen 24 percent, aid for education has been on the decline for six years — falling 4 percent since 2010. The report analyzes data from every country in the world.

Some believe the refugee crisis is to blame — that as more resources are pulled to address the immediate needs of health, food, and shelter for asylum seekers, education is neglected. But the report finds “little evidence” of that.

So why the decrease?

“Donors are giving less priority to education,” says Manos Antoninis, a senior policy analyst at UNESCO who co-authored the report.

Governments hold countries that receive aid accountable, explains Antoninis. Which means they have to show results.

“That is difficult for education,” says Antoninis. “In health, you can achieve results very quickly. For education, everything takes more time and requires donors to be patient, but that is not a very attractive result.”

Whether a country receives aid, says Antoninis, is often a question of that country’s trade and history.

Read more at NPR.org